Oh scarlet door,
what lies beyond your brightly painted panels?
Do you lock yourself to safely seal your secrets?
What mysteries are waiting to be discovered

in the nooks and crannies of the chambers behind you?
Are you shut close, aloof, wary or afraid ...
of unbidden strangers,
of unwelcome neighbours who might come calling at your doorstep ----
and sniff the stew simmering on your stove?

-Jennifer Melendez-Penaflor

Modesty looks out on the world.
Be not deceived.
Time and weather
may leave their mark,
but the scars belie
the secrets that reside within.

-John Rock

Seven hills next to the sea
Sitting there
washed white by the sea
Storm after storm, inch by inch
Erode the hills
Slowly they return to the sea.

-Midnight Nike Panusart

a present day image of a saint? 
a guardian of the sea?
a resurrected Bob Marley? 

Behind the dark sunglasses 
 is a soul that is ready to tell us one or a few things about his life, his domain. 
His story can be a reggae song…it can be a storybook…
it can be another film in the making.
Whatever it is, I am sure of one thing.
This man has a story to tell and is eager for us to listen.

-Luchie Flores

Standing on the edge of my seat…
It could all disappear at the blink of an eye…
Gone…
I had an angel on my side…
The memories will always remain…
I win…

-Adisara

Another day is done as the sun slowly sets into the deep blue sea…
whispering to its watchers, go relax and rest,
for the night will slowly creep…
the moon will shine next to give you glow through the night…
and when dawn shall come,
i'll be the first to greet good morning with my burning light…

-Eileen Abuzo-Neri

 

The peeling layers of paint on the multi colored door
is an eloquent pastiche of stories and histories
that have gone through and passed by the door.  
That it is closed all the more tempts our curiosity
and tests our courage to open and explore its secrets.  
The flatness of the visual field cries out
for the opening of the door so its depths can be revealed.

-Cris Rollo

They say the meek
shall inherit the earth…
just hang in there buddy
this is just a temporary paradise…

-Ryan Rivero

After a storm,

nature shows its most beautiful side.
Just as people do.


-Leif Softing

A microcosm of man’s dilemma:
Where do I go from here?
What fate awaits me in the next town?
Did I make the right decision?
Can I still turn back?
At the end of this journey, life will unfold.

-Amy Rodil

Whether is blue skies or rainy days
there no place like home.
Working and playing
your home is where you belong.
Whether it’s going away to college
or going away to travel,
there is still no place like home.

-Jai-jai Vergara Estallo Maniri

                                                                             Yak #1: Now I know how Atlas felt.

                                                                             Yak #2: Chin up, friend. I’m here to share your burden.

-Lesley Wright

Colors from God’s Palette

There is no dissonance in the colors of nature.
In the obra maestra of the Great Painter,
the hues combine, well, naturally,
to create a scenery that never goes out of style.

-Carmeli Chaves

Mater Dolorosa. 
The Mother of Christ sorrowing for her son. 
Community members carry her carroza during the solemn
Santo Entierro procession rites on Good Friday.

The face of a mother weeping for her beloved son
who is laid to rest, reminds me of the sacrifices our mothers
have to endure to raise us to be what we are today. 

-Luchie flores

The ghouls and the goblins
When the leaves turn gold
The cold bitter winter
Just around the bend
let us bask into life
The changing seasons
The celebration.

-Therese Pearson-Neri

I must lead
and the others
must follow my directions
if we are going
to get this show
on the road.

-John Rock

Sun sea sand summer!
Cool water by the ankles
Salty breeze.

-Midnight Nike Panusart

                                                                            An army of faces… a multitude of personalities …
                                                                            myriad of thoughts… crowds coming together…
                                                                           do they care about what other people think
                                                                           or even say or even react to?
                                                                           Sometimes yes but more often no.
                                                                           
                                                                           We are one as a people… as a culture…
                                                                           yet we are apart… engrossed in our own worlds.

                                                                           We laugh, we sing, we cry and move together,

                                                                           yet we are worlds apart…
                                                                           because each one of us is unique, different…
                                                                           we trod diverse roads…

                                                                          -Luchie Flores

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

It certainly the most elaborate
and lavish in fine blue,
the detailing and artisan works more refined than elsewhere

where Cheong devoted his most attention 

due to his love for his 7th wife cum concubine.

-Corette Buri

The Pied Piper came to market today
Played his magical pipe to the morning crowd
They couldn’t resist his hypnotic music
And they followed him to the other side.
In fact you can still see them through the wall…

-Happy Ballesteros-Raagas

All alone 
I stand,

wishing for someone to come on board.

After everything that’s happened to me,

the thing most painful is loneliness.

Here I am, 
alone.

-Jai-jai Vergara Estallo Maniri

What happens if there’s no more mountain or rock to climb?
What happens if all things are made of glass?
Can men evolve into becoming spiders?
But spiders have four pairs of legs. Are you ready?

-Oliver Patino

My face is your face,
I reflect to you what you are seeking –
I have been here forever
and will remain here till time immemorial.
I am she,
the one who weaves the threads of life
into rainbow colours
and then spills then all over the path
so you can pick
and choose your direction.

-Sally Moore

Insults, putdowns, and teasing are all forms of disrespect.
That also includes digs about your race or culture or religion.
Can you be my buddy for life?

-Adisara

Reflections

When I shall have finally mustered the courage
to face the truth I shall peer into the water,
and hopefully find that I have become
the person that I wanted to be.

-Carmeli Chaves

A mighty nation
A mighty people
The wind echoes its legacy
The fading stones cries its beauty
What is left is a memory
Of a great civilization once stood.

-Therese Pearson-Neri

Drop your ‘S’ right here,
cause we know you better …
or do we?
Are you close for the day? …
or are you CLOSED?

-Andrew Tan

Faces of youngsters…
projecting a mask of manhood in their youthful images.
 
I wonder what they will be like 10 years from now
…an engineer? a finance analyst? a teacher? a well-travelled photographer?
Whoever they will become in the future,
each one of them will probably remember this one fine day in Indonesia,
where they gamely posed for this captive picture.

-Luchie Flores

According to the guidebook,
there’s a giraffe
living here somewhere…

-Jenni Flotmann

Blanket

(for D)

At the end of each long and tiring day

Your embrace is that place

Where my soul, like day, without drama

Peacefully surrenders itself to the night.

Fishing boats know this by heart

When the sea, a blanket of quiet and calm

Perfectly mirrors the uncomplaining sky

With its tangerine sun and cerulean clouds.

-Happy Ballesteros-Raagas

 Golden tassles

Soaring into the sky
Meeting the world of faith

Stylized naga
Quietly guards
Spiritual intruders

Surrounding bells
Ring inner stillness
By the passing wind

Structural serenity
Equates mindfulness
Peace and calm.

-Midnight Nike Panusart

 

Go out and live life!
Climb mountains, swim in the ocean,
and meet all kinds of people,
live! Life is what you make of it,
so go out and live life to the fullest with no regrets
and experiencing it just the way you want it.

-Jai-jai Vergara Estallo Maniri

Sorrow tires out life
of brute force…

One has to tolerate much in life…
There is always something
to look forward to everyday...
Life is a journey…

-Ryan Rivero

 

Men have excess desires. They build houses as high as the skies.
But men are insecure too. They need stairs to escape. For protection.
Stairs come handy for graceful exits. Especially when things boil down to danger or shame.

-Oliver Patino

 

Some say that you are born to be something or someone.
Some say that the things that you want to be will have to be in you.

I say you shouldn’t be afraid to show people what you can do.
I say you are not born to be anything or anyone.

The only thing you’re born with is a chance.
A chance to be who or what you want to be and be passionate about it.

This child has a lot of promise and before you know it
he might be a famous actor or a successful businessman.

Just know what you want to do, work hard for it,
stand up for it, be passionate about it, and go for it!

-Alyssandra Maniri

My home,
nested in the pink of the summer, water smoothly lapping the shores,
inviting a swim, a paddle, a sojourn on the glassy surface, maybe a picnic?
Come with me to lie beneath the blossoms, listen to the hum of the bee…
if you listen hard enough you can hear my heart beat…
beating for my home.

-Sally Moore

Outriggers docked in a bay shelter is like an array of choices.
Should I take outrigger 7, 2, 3 or 4?

Life is an array of choices.
To get to where we want to be,
we have to ensure that we pick the correct passage.
A great singer picking a song
that is not fit for his/her voice quality
may lose in a singing contest.
A soldier in the battleground
who does not pick the right strategies to combat his nemesis may perish.
A successful career means selecting a course or employment
that locks in with your talents and abilities.
A great relationship is a relationship of choice…not of chance.

Would it be no. 7, 2, 3 or 4? It’s your choice and yours alone.

-Luchie Flores

I wonder
what street signs
are found
on this lane ---
stop?
Caution?
Yield?  
One-way?  
Four-way?
 
-Carmeli Chaves

forgotten

i wonder if behind your stoic gaze
i will find fire like your saffron robe
or coldness not unlike ancient statues
carved out of silent and defiant stones

if I stare long enough
and be quiet long enough
and listen well enough

will I glimpse the fierce spirit beneath the calm
hear the real voice within the chants
divine inner longings within the prayers
long obscured and forgotten
by ascetic rituals and discipline

-Happy Ballesteros-Raagas

My first glimpse of the islands,
glaringly white,
well balanced villages
with the simplicity of the houses…
what a lesson in architecture!

-Corette Buri

 Best Friends

When we’re ancient, we’ll reminisce
about all the laughter, cuts and bruises,
frogs in the creek caught in our pockets,
our first kiss, finding god, disappointment,
Love, and aches.

Best Friends are the meaning of life.

What a gift to get it so young.

-Lesley Wright

Sitting, waiting
Breathe in, breathe out
Focus
Cities are built, cities crumble,
today, tomorrow
Focus
Breathe in, breathe out
Sitting, waiting.

-Felicia Wong

No, no, this is no time for discretion,
there must be light, colour, movement,
the sparkle of simmering silk, a time for rejoicing.
For the glamour and exuberance of youth is sacred.

 
-John Rock

We come with different colors, race, religion, and culture.
That's what makes humanity beautiful and worthy of recognition.
What we need, however,
is the ability to appreciate human diversity in various sections of our society
and be truly grateful about it!

 
-Ryan Luna

The heart remembers most what it has loved best…
Words are not of hate and anger…
words are not of evil…
but of sweet, purity and love…

-Adisara

Leaving

You leave tomorrow
taking my heart
but I will not cry
for pain is my mother
her breasts taut and tender
with milk of desolation
will nourish me
while you are gone.

You leave tomorrow
bringing my soul
but I will not mourn
for sorrow is my sister
her heart beating and sighing
with songs of sadness
will keep me company
while you are gone.

You leave tomorrow
leaving me alone
but I will not grieve
for solitude is my brother
his veins throbbing and ebbing
with solitude’s tears
will keep me warm
while you are gone. 

 -Happy Ballesteros-Raagas

Many ways to travel on this path…unknown
Will I be alone on the journey…hope not
We are all constantly travelling
My calling for a better spot.

Must I just look forward…unseen
Why forget where I’ve been…time passed
Wandering uncertainty step by step
More and more adapt I become.

Make mine a smooth path…understand
With friends lending hands…when lost
Warm the lonesome new moon nights
Make the dark midnights alright.
 
-Midnight Nike Panusart